Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A cena con l'assassino by Alexandra Benedict

60 reviews

ashanderson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I'm bah humbug when it comes to Christmas, so if anything's going to get me to read a Christmas related book, I guess a murder mystery is acceptable. 

I was honestly more surprised by the amount of murders in the book than who the murder(s) was/were. The reason behind the family gathering was the death (murder) of Aunt Liliana who just so happened to murder her brother (Edward) and his wife for murdering their beloved sister (and mother to the main character, Lily) for the title to the manor, maze, and accompanying wealth. That's a lot of family murder even prior to the second generation of family murders within the main story of the book!

Aunt Liliana had requested in her will and final instructions for her attorney gather the family at the manor to play one last Christmas game to determine who would own the manor, maze, and family money. All of the cousins, besides Lily, were solely playing for the manor and the money, but Aunt Liliana had also sent a letter to Lily stating this one final game will also tell her what really happened to her mother.

Not that you get to know all of the cousins very well, but I recommend not getting attached to anyone because very, very few make it out alive.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Murder

pinkrain718's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Pregnancy

heidi_84's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Murder, and Pregnancy

cindytheskull's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

I was given this book by my auntie, but it would have never been something I would have bought for myself.

All in all it’s a too easy and predictable read with a cast of absolutely annoying characters that keep acting like no human being would ever act in similar situations.

I finished it just to be sure my prediction, which happened by 20% completion of my reading, was actually correct.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Incest, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia and Homophobia

Minor: Self harm

whirl's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Murder and Pregnancy

Minor: Incest

salvianlehdet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

Very nice, tense and interesting book! I liked the 12 days of christmas anagram game alot, it made me read some of the chapters multiple times though since I was determined to find all of them. At the end of the book the plot started to get a bit all over the place and crazy and I feel like some of the things were crammed to the end but otherwise absolutely a great read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

readsacb's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

I did not enjoy the mystery plot in this book & did not end up liking most of the characters.   Though to be fair, some of them you are not supposed to like.  The book was a tedious read to me, & I saw the ending coming for the most part.  However, I did appreciate how much effort was put into the puzzle aspect of the book.  It seemed to be a focus for the author.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Incest, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

stephabee_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Incest, Self harm, Suicide, and Pregnancy

scribblinginthemargins's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Grief, and Gaslighting